Agriculture is largest employing sector in Gambia Says GCCI prexy
Monday, August 29, 2011
The president of The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has said that agriculture is the largest employing sector in The Gambia. Bai Matarr Drammeh made the statement last Tuesday while deliberating on the compatibility of the private sector and national development at the TANGO Policy Dialogue Forum.
He said: “Despite many and complex obstacles that this country faces, there is considerable scope for successful economic activity in the non-traditional exports such as horticulture, fishing and tourism which has significant growth potential.”
He dilated on the importance of horticulture, saying it is an extremely promising source of export diversification and poverty reduction for many African countries including The Gambia.
“Horticultural products which include fruits, vegetables and cut flowers have grown steadily and become the single largest category in agricultural trade accounting for more than 20% of the world’s agricultural exports,” Drammeh added.
Dwelling on the issue of competitiveness in terms of exportation for nations at the international market, the GCCI prexy made it clear that the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of intervention at the national and sectoral levels is costly and requires significant amount of financial and human resources.
“It is for this reason that there is need for a systematic and coherent evaluation framework for sufficient and flexible implementation capable [of providing] clear and timely information on the policies that are being evaluated. The role of the state in this regard, is to ensure that the private sector operates under peaceful circumstances,” he further stated.
Energy
Explaining the significance of energy, Drammeh said there would be need for adequate policies to improve the welfare of citizens. He opined that any national policy that fails to recognise energy as the single most important ingredient for adequate development and global competitiveness will be spinning its wheels on the same spot for the long-term.
He informed the gathering that ADB has indicated that the lack of access to modern energy for industrial use impedes enterprise start-up and expansion opportunities. “It undermines competitiveness and access to markets, thus, preventing income generation, which is essential for the financial sustainability of the energy sector,” he concluded.
He said: “Despite many and complex obstacles that this country faces, there is considerable scope for successful economic activity in the non-traditional exports such as horticulture, fishing and tourism which has significant growth potential.”
He dilated on the importance of horticulture, saying it is an extremely promising source of export diversification and poverty reduction for many African countries including The Gambia.
“Horticultural products which include fruits, vegetables and cut flowers have grown steadily and become the single largest category in agricultural trade accounting for more than 20% of the world’s agricultural exports,” Drammeh added.
Dwelling on the issue of competitiveness in terms of exportation for nations at the international market, the GCCI prexy made it clear that the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of intervention at the national and sectoral levels is costly and requires significant amount of financial and human resources.
“It is for this reason that there is need for a systematic and coherent evaluation framework for sufficient and flexible implementation capable [of providing] clear and timely information on the policies that are being evaluated. The role of the state in this regard, is to ensure that the private sector operates under peaceful circumstances,” he further stated.
Energy
Explaining the significance of energy, Drammeh said there would be need for adequate policies to improve the welfare of citizens. He opined that any national policy that fails to recognise energy as the single most important ingredient for adequate development and global competitiveness will be spinning its wheels on the same spot for the long-term.
He informed the gathering that ADB has indicated that the lack of access to modern energy for industrial use impedes enterprise start-up and expansion opportunities. “It undermines competitiveness and access to markets, thus, preventing income generation, which is essential for the financial sustainability of the energy sector,” he concluded.
Author: Bekai Njie